NATIONAL PARK EXTRAVAGANZA
I spent the last days of the week wining and dining through four Canadian national parks, and the associated cities nearby where we stayed. It was actually the first time that I have been to Yoho or Glacier National Park. It was really an entertaining experience. We had beautiful weather for the most part, right up until the very last day. I am happy to say that I viewed the entire experience as a positive one. We saw very little wildlife for the entire trip, but what we did see was fun and unusual. We saw bear cubs playing in the ditch on the Icefields Parkway and a fox on highway 16. We also saw the usual compliment of bighorn sheep and elk. From the people that we spoke to, we did better than most visiting the park. It was warm, so the working theory is that most animals fled to higher and cooler elevations. I have some fantastic pictures from the trip which I plan on posting in the next few days. Pictures of the bear cubs are probably pointless as what I got is just sufficient enough to show that we did in fact see a bear. Sadly, we were a little slow in getting the camera out. However, we got some great mountain shots which I plan on posting for fun. I had desperately needed to get out of Edmonton, and I think this trip was almost therapeutic in nature. It certainly was from a culinary perspective; I ate at a wonderful Greek restaurant named “Something Else” as well as a great Irish place in Banff. At that Irish place, mom ordered a seafood boxty that was incredible. I heartily recommend either place for fantastic cuisine. We also ate at “The Keg” last night, and that was terrific too. My steak there was amazing, as usual. My move to my apartment is now nearly complete. My mom took one look at it and decided that we’d just stay in a hotel and eat out. Despite that reaction, I remain confident that it will work out with some work and TLC. It’s going to have to – the Edmonton Coast Plaza hotel is wonderful to stay in, but a little expensive to make a habit out of. It sounds like we have secured a futon for the room, and with that and a small dresser, I should be in business. I need to make some serious money this fall and a decent amount for the rest of the summer. I still have a bit of time left. I have a hard time believing how much I have to do to get set up for this coming school year. I still have yet to complete my registration for the coming year, despite the fact that my confirmation payment of $150 is due on the fifteenth. I also need to secure insurance for my apartment some time this week. Sometimes I look at my future plans and it’s overwhelming. I have little time, and so much that I need to get done.
WAKING NIGHTMARE
Well, it wasn't that bad, but the night went badly. I spent the weekend at my Uncle's place in Southern Alberta and I could feel it then! That ticklish raw feeling at the back of my throat. It was just enough to know that something was horribly wrong. By Monday that feeling had evolved into complete and utter illness -- by my standards, anyway. By that evening, after the obligatory seven hours imprisoned on the slow moving soulcrusher (Greyhound), I was thoroughly defeated. I felt exhausted, and my throat was now as sore as it gets. After discussing matters with the RN of the family (mom), I decided to get a thermometer, which meant I had to leave the house again. Sure enough, the thermometer revealed a healthy temperature of 39 C. I was burning up. But I had to go and let the people over at the office know that I couldn't pick up the keys till the following day. I was in no shape to move. While walking over there, I did some I could only do while fevered. I locked the keys in the car. Forty five minutes on the cellphone, an hour of standing in the rain later, and $81 CAD paid to AMA, I was back in my vehicle on the way home. What a night... In any case, tomorrow I must wake up relatively early so that I can move all of my junk over to the new place. The room over there looks very small, so I am more than a little nervous that I won't have enough room. I suppose I'll find out in a few days. It's a weird setup. I have keys for my room, the suite (4 bedroom), and for the building. It's basically a 4 bedroom appt with two bathrooms. Only one of the bathrooms has a shower, however. I chose it because I wasn't responsible for the rent on the enitre suite, just the bedroom I have. We'll see if it works. My lease is month to month, so I can bail out at the end of September if it doesn't fly.
CASSEROLE
I've finally done it. That is, I baked a casserole tonight and it turned out fairly well. Now, to be fair, it was a very easy casserole to make, but the point is that I did accomplish it. In any case, I like it because it's tasty, at least somewhat healthy (moreso than potato chips), and I can make two meals out of one, which means less effort by me. The casserole dish lends itself well to that purpose, I can save the dish in exactly what it was made in with a lid and everything. I met a couple from Montr�al today that were deaf. That is the strangest business experience I can recall recently. Trying to translate and write down my responses in French for them and understanding what they were trying to say was difficult at best . In any case, they were looking for "un nouvel camping-car." Or put differently, a new motorhome, which ArrKann does not offer. For those of you who would like to see some of the trailers that I have on the lot, check out this site.
PURE SQUALOR
I guess the title would suggest that my current residence is a wreck, but as you can see from the pictures, it's actually quite nice. I am more than a little concerned about my next domocile, however. At least here I have a dresser and a mattress. The next place will be woefully missing those handy pieces of furniture. I am trying to figure out to come up with those things within a week, and how exactly I am going to effect the move. I am hoping to get off the coming weekend to pop down to Granum and visit the relatives. I can pick up a chair down there that will solve one little piece of the overall furniture puzzle too. My boss gave me this Saturday off, I just have to figure out soon how exactly I am going to get down there. With the current state of my car (things have NOT gotten better), I am not sure if I want to drive. On the hand, I revile the bus (speed, smell, freedom, etc), so my options aren't looking great at the moment. Either way, before I take off, I really need to sell at least 3 trailers, which is a pretty tall order.
SITE REDESIGN
School is creeping back up on me slowly but surely, and yet, I have so much to accomplish this summer. I realized that I have a whole lot of projects that I wanted to get to this summer, not least of which is redesigning this website. I took about it all the time, but I actually mean it. This look is getting rather dated, but trying to get me to recode this is like pulling teeth. Something about the project gets me... in a procrastinating mood. I also need to balance the books and register for the next year's classes. And with that goes a lot of studying. I do not believe I am anywhere close to being ready to take Chem 211/213 yet. I guess I'll just have to get a little more focused and disciplined for the rest of the summer. Moving constantly has certainly been an unwelcome distraction, as has the sales uncertainty. I wish I could put to death all of the demons haunting me, but for now... The burden is barely manageable at the moment, but things aren't getting any better, that's for sure. Apparently, had a friend of mine been able to get a hold of me, I could have had a job guarding the Harry Potter books for $20/hour. As it was, I did sell a trailer that night, but it kinda figures... The perfect opportunity comes along and I'm out to lunch.
WARTHOG CREAM ALE
This summer has been a long and arduous one thus far. Though I wish I could say it has a certainty of improving, that is beyond my reach. What I can say is that I continue to grasp slipping threads of hope over this more difficult than average portion of my life. At some point, something needs to give. Hopefully soon I can begin to make things happen. In other news, my mom is headed out to Alberta to visit me, incredibly enough. We are planning on renting a car and going to see Jasper among other fun destinations. It has indeed been a long time since I have seen anybody from Michigan - 8 months or so, actually. It will be nice to have my first visitor in years. I plan on showing off the university, and all of my usual haunts around here. In general, I think it will be a good time. Big Rock (brewery in Calgary, AB) makes a delightfully good beer for the summer called Warthog Cream Ale. I tried it for the first time a few days ago and quite enjoyed it.
CLAUSTROPHOBIC
Oh my gosh, I need to get outta Alberta soon. I am actually seriously considering packing up a a backpack and hitchhiking, railpass, whatever somewhere, anywhere else. Every once in a while I get a huge compulsion to go somewhere else. I was partially sated over the school year because I went to BC, Massachusetts, and Michigan, to name a few. That and getting here, of course I went through Indiana, North Dakota, Saskatchewan, etc... The last place I was at was either my relatives place in Southern Alberta or North Battleford, SK. Normally I plan some kind of trip, and budget for it, etc. This summer my means are so limited that I have done none of that. I also realized while playing around in Outlook that we are already at July 12th of this year. I am fast running out of summer, and I have accomplished absolutely nothing with my time. It's really kind of embarrassing. Almost enough so that I feel like giving up. But I can't, because I have some serious bills to pay. I am really feeling the pressure now, I guess. Anybody who still reads this, keep in touch. It's gotta have been anywhere from several weeks to six months since I have seen you last.
OBD II AND HAIRCUTS
Apparently, an OBD II code reader is absolutely essential to diagnosing problems that a car reports through its onboard computer. Unfortunately for me, I am lacking one of these devices (available on Amazon for $99). The charge up here for me to get a mechanic to do it is floating from $35 to $65. I'd really like to know what that car is reporting, but that kind of money is really out of my hands. We'll see if I have any more problems with the stupid thing. I took the majority of the day off to accomplish some tasks I couldn't seem to get around to otherwise. I think it worked. I got the first haircut I have had since April. It sure was nice to get rid of the mop. I also did a little cleaning, and a few other odds and ends. The only end I really have left is to sell 20 trailers. It was a little weird not to celebrate the Fourth of July, but I think I'll get over it. At least I had the day off. In any case, I should probably catch some Zzz's before tomorrow.
LIVE 8
It would seem that the project was a success, well at least it drew out a lot of people. Had I been a LOT closer to Barrie, I would've showed up at that concert or the one in London pehaps. However, being trapped in Edmonton is not wholly conducive to concert-going. Well, neither is being broke. The G8 will soon vote on packages for African aid, and I would like the elimination of CAP (Commom Agriculture Policy in the EU) and US subsidies to go the way of the dodo. At least then the farmers have a level playing field to compete on. For far too long Africa has been allowed to wallow in killing fields and economic squalor. We have watched in apathy as millions die there of simple disease and malnutrition. At a time when the world as a whole has never been richer, we cannot keep people from dying from starvation. Hopefully, the Live 8 concerts bring some awareness to the tragedy all around us. On just as sad a note, I am getting very concerned about the transmission on my venerable Grand Am. I don't know what exactly it is about me and automobiles, but something's gotta give. I cannot afford to redo an automatic, and I certainly can't do that one myself. As far as I'm concerned, that's voodoo. I was trying to figure out how exactly all of it works on the net tonight, and even with helpful animations, I am a bit lost... The engineer who dreamed that one up needs to come back down to Earth...
CANADA DAY
I honestly think this is the first time in 16 years that I have actually been in Canada on Canada Day. I might be missing a summer vacation in there, but I don't think so. It's not really such a big deal, but I did really enjoy seeing the fireworks. I missed them last year due to my trip to Utah, Colorado, and Wyoming. Edmonton had a decent display of them, but I'm surprised they weren't a bit better, given that it is Alberta's centennial this year. I would prefer being down in Granum to celebrate with my relatives, but work would not permit... I have completed my move to my temporary sublet. Of all things, I really, really hate moving. It does keep you honest however in the amount of stuff you own. I think I have too much presently. The place that I moved into barely has room for it, and that is with a carload stashed at my office. At least this new place is really well furnished. It looks like the house built by IKEA. Still, it could be a lot worse, and I really kinda like the decor. It is officially July now which means that half of my summer is now gone. I am rather disappointed in that, but that is the way of things. I need to make a lot of money before the summer really does end. I am running out of time to make the positive dent in my finances that I need. I kinda think that I have been losing ground of late rather than gaining it. Still, work has to pick up here really soon; school is out and camping season is in full swing.